clunking while accelerating/decelerating, metallic grinding

Upon doing my research, I see this is a known problem. This year and model has terrible issues with the powertrain, and it is due to the design flaw of a 2 piece drive shaft. At this point, we have paid more than what we owe on the vehicle to repair it, and almost as much as any resale value we can hope to get.

It is not an old vehicle by any means, and we have had ongoing issues - wheelbearings, leaf springs, hub actuators (twice), ball joints, and now these VERY expensive issues... As a consumer I am very disappointed that Ford has not taken responsibility for their design flaws, and how as a young, hard-working couple trying to get a start in life we are stuck paying for these big fixes we can't afford on our only vehicle. It leaves us in a predicament as we don't have a choice to pay for the fixes, as our options are fix it and pay the huge bill, or let it sit and not be able to drive it or sell it.

When you pay such a large sum of money for a vehicle, you expect a quality product. A wheelbearing here, a leaf spring there - that is wear and tear. NOT replacing the powertrain...